[Web4lib] Valid substitute for body onLoad()

Tue Oct 31 09:27:00 EST 2006

In Jeremy Keith's book DOM Scripting, which provides a good introduction 
to unobtrusive JavaScript, he recommends using Simon Willison's 
addLoadEvent function as a method for removing event attributes from 
your markup:

http://simon.incutio.com/archive/2004/05/26/addLoadEvent

It has two major advantages: first, you can use it to queue up multiple 
events to run once the page loads; and second, it allows you to put in 
place a number of checks to ensure that a js-based utility will function 
properly before it tries to execute. It scales well and degrades gracefully.

-Steve

Robert Sullivan wrote:
> I have found an almost-pure CSS method method for drop down menus
> which works across browsers and validates, except that it uses a small
> piece of Javascript which is called by <body onLoad>.
> 
> That won't pass the validator and since I don't speak Javascript I am
> looking for an alternative means of doing that.  The site I saw this
> on:
> 
> <http://www.projectseven.com/tutorials/navigation/auto_hide/index.htm>
> 
> says you may replace that with a window.onload in the script file, but
> before I get in any deeper I am asking people who actually know what
> they're doing. :-)
> 

-- 
Stephen Meyer
Library Application Developer
UW-Madison Libraries
312F Memorial Library
728 State St.
Madison, WI 53706

smeyer at library.wisc.edu
608-265-2844 (ph)

"Just don't let the human factor fail to be a factor at all."
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